Monopolizing Fortunes (43)
Monopolizing Fortunes (43)
Money that most commoners could not touch even after saving for an entire year was put up as the price of seeing a hand.
Luck did not favor Do Tong-dal in the second round. When both of them held gangpae, he often lost.
"Looks like luck has come back around to me."
Sometimes throwing out a word to shake the opponent was also a gambler's skill.
"The one who laughs last is the one who wins."
Five cards were dealt and Namgung Seol-rin revealed her hand. She had picked up the knack by now, and the way she turned over one card at a time made her look like a real gambler.
'5, 7, 10, 8.......'
First, the three cards made 20. Even from just a glimpse of the last card's edge, Do Tong-dal could tell what number it was.
Do Tong-dal lightly stepped on Namgung Seol-rin's foot. As long as Gwak Gae-dong had not trained in martial arts, he could not possibly notice a movement this subtle.
The hand Namgung Seol-rin fully revealed contained the tens—a double-ten hand, the highest in the game.
Do Tong-dal looked at Gwak Gae-dong's little finger. Gwak Gae-dong probably thought he was flawless, but Do Tong-dal had found a tell all the same.
It was a habit that could never be spotted unless one's eyes were exceptionally sharp. When Gwak Gae-dong held a gangpae, strength went into the little finger of the hand holding the cards.
Do Tong-dal did not miss that extremely faint movement. Gwak Gae-dong tossed in a promissory note for twenty nyang and spoke.
"Let's go with man for now."
Man meant betting as much money as was already on the table.
"Take man, and man."
"Take man, and man again."
Gwak Gae-dong's intention to slowly raise the stakes was visible. If he matched the rhythm too well, he might draw suspicion.
'Showdown!'
Do Tong-dal's low voice dropped.
"Take man, and everything."
The stickman counted the promissory notes and announced that it was eight hundred twenty nyang. Since Do Tong-dal had already put his money in, Gwak Gae-dong had no need to hide his expression.
"Are you serious?"
"At a gambling table, money is the proof."
"Hm. You must be holding a remarkably good hand."
"Pay up and find out."
If one side surrendered, the cards were shuffled away without any verification process.
"That's quite a surprise move...... Aren't you being a little too hasty?"
"You talk too much."
Gwak Gae-dong grinned, then pushed in everything except one hundred sixty nyang. He always calculated exactly how much of his own stake remained.
"I'll take it."
The side taking the bet always revealed their cards first.
"Chilttaeng."
"Damn! There are three hands higher than that......."
"Because I don't believe you're holding one of those three."
Do Tong-dal spoke to Namgung Seol-rin.
"Show them."
When the five cards were laid out beautifully, Gwak Gae-dong's face drained white.
"D-double tens! How can this be!"
"I told you. There are three hands higher than chilttaeng."
"But......!"
"But what?"
Gwak Gae-dong's gaze lingered on Namgung Seol-rin's face for a moment before sliding away. The gambling match was not even over yet, so he could not reveal his hand.
'Her eyes clearly said she had a shit hand.'
The masked person had no ability to deceive him. Every bet he had made based on the masked person's eyes so far had won. Regardless of the money, he had won the bets themselves.
'Did I misread her?'
Unless one was a god, gambling for more than three shichen could bring on mistakes.
"Anyway, you have too little money left. Do you intend to keep playing with just that?"
No matter how good a hand he held, one hundred sixty nyang was the limit of what Gwak Gae-dong could bet.
"I wonder if the gambling house owner will extend you more credit."
"Shall we ask?"
Promissory notes worth a thousand nyang piled up in front of Gwak Gae-dong again. Only Gwak Gae-dong himself did not know that he was already sunk in the swamp up to his neck.
By the time the late-rising winter sun shone brightly through the eastern window, Gwak Gae-dong's face was badly twisted. He could no longer hide his expression.
Five thousand nyang.
That was the debt he had run up overnight at Hwaryeong Gambling House. Such a thorough defeat was the first in his thirty-year gambling life.
"C-could I borrow just one thousand nyang more?"
Seo Chil-yong, who had come running at the call, spoke in a very kind voice.
"The sun is up, customer."
No more loans, and it was time to collect on the loans already extended. As a gambler, Gwak Gae-dong knew exactly what this hour meant.
"I-I don't have the money to pay right now......."
Shing—.
A dagger slipped from Seo Chil-yong's waist and touched Gwak Gae-dong's stomach.
"You little shit, because of you my man got all his fingers cut off. Want me to show you your own guts right now?"
Seo Chil-yong waved the IOU in front of Gwak Gae-dong's eyes.
"Pay up. Now."
"I-I'll take you to where the money is."
Do Tong-dal took the IOU from Seo Chil-yong.
"I'll go."
It was easier to go with just Namgung Seol-rin. As expected, Gwak Gae-dong moved toward Black Dragon Society territory.
After staying up all night, the pouring sunlight felt unfamiliar. Gwak Gae-dong turned onto Seohyeon-ro and walked for a long while before stopping.
"Here."
Most of Gwak Gae-dong's fear had vanished during the walk from the gambling house. They had entered Black Dragon Society territory, which had his back, so he had come to believe that Do Tong-dal could not harm him here.
Do Tong-dal glanced at the signboard announcing this was the Black Dragon Society Seohyeon Branch and asked.
"So someone here is going to pay your debt for you?"
"Th-that's right."
Even after checking the signboard, Do Tong-dal's unshaken attitude bothered him.
"Lead the way."
When they entered the single-story Seohyeon-ro branch, a few men who knew Gwak Gae-dong raised their hands.
"Hey! How much did you win today?"
"You're treating us to a big lunch later, right?"
The faces of the thugs who had been talking and laughing stiffened when they saw Do Tong-dal and Namgung Seol-rin come in behind him.
The Red Tiger of the Red Tiger Society, who went around with a masked person. There was not a thug in Hangzhou who had not heard the rumors about Do Tong-dal.
Do Tong-dal asked the thug with a mole on his cheek.
"Where's the branch chief?"
The thug pointed at a door. Do Tong-dal put Gwak Gae-dong in front and opened the door.
There were two people inside the office. A man occupying the desk and a man standing in front of it. There was no need to ask which one was the branch chief.
Surprise also rose on the branch chief's face when he saw Do Tong-dal and Namgung Seol-rin. The branch chief glanced at Gwak Gae-dong, then asked Do Tong-dal.
"What brings the famous Coordinator Do Tong-dal to this shabby place?"
"This fellow said if he came here, I could collect this money."
The branch chief was surprised once more at the amount on the IOU Do Tong-dal spread out on the desk.
"Five thousand nyang?"
The branch chief's gaze fixed on Gwak Gae-dong. Gwak Gae-dong flinched and hurriedly made excuses.
"Th-that is, I was tricked by them......."
Do Tong-dal cut Gwak Gae-dong off.
"The IOU says everything, so I'll be taking the money."
The branch chief flicked the IOU.
"Why should I be the one to pay this? Is my name written on this IOU?"
"What's the branch chief's name?"
"Byeon Cha-su."
"No name on it, sure. Then did you not take the money that guy won either?"
"Do I have any reason to tell you that?"
Do Tong-dal asked Gwak Gae-dong.
"Who bankrolled your gambling?"
"Th-that is......."
"If you don't want to answer here, you'll have to go back where you came from."
"It was Branch Chief Byeon Chi-su!"
"The terms?"
"On the condition that I give him fifty percent of the winnings......."
"If you lost?"
"He promised he would cover it."
"Did Branch Chief Byeon Chi-su also tell you where to gamble?"
"He said I had to go to Hwaryeong Gambling House......."
He rattled it all off because going back to Hwaryeong Gambling House seemed like it would get his belly split open.
"You stupid piece of shit."
Byeon Chi-su cursed, then spoke as if it were nothing.
"The one I made a promise to is Gwak Gae-dong over there, not Coordinator Do. And I have no intention of keeping my promise to that bastard."
"So you're saying I can take Gwak Gae-dong away and kill him?"
"That's up to you."
"B-branch Chief......."
"You little shit! Shut your trap! You said there was no way you'd lose!"
"Wh-where in gambling is there ever an absolute? How can you do this when you gobbled up all the money I brought you?"
"You dumb bastard! The money you blew through is your problem!"
Do Tong-dal leaned over the desk and closed the distance with Byeon Chi-su.
"So you sent a ringer to a gambling house under Red Tiger Society jurisdiction to win money. In the underworld, that's called picking a fight. The Black Dragon Society picked a fight with the Red Tiger Society. And now you're going to stiff us on the lost money too? That takes it from picking a fight to a declaration of war. Looks like the Black Dragon Society sees the Red Tiger Society as dogshit. Just remember that this war is one you started."
"Wh-what nonsense! That bastard just didn't pay his debt! Take him and boil him or roast him, do whatever you want! Don't drag the Black Dragon Society into this!"
Do Tong-dal let out a long sigh.
"Hah—! Without loyalty and principle, a thug is nothing but trash, and you've got neither."
Do Tong-dal turned and continued speaking.
"By the end of today, our Society Leader will be contacting the Black Dragon Society leader. As for me, I always welcome a war."
"W-wait!"
Byeon Chi-su's call could not stop Do Tong-dal's steps. Do Tong-dal took Gwak Gae-dong and strode right out of the Seohyeon Branch.
"That lunatic isn't really going to start a war, is he?"
* * *
"Are you really going to go to war with the Black Dragon Society?"
"Five thousand nyang is plenty of reason for a war, isn't it?"
It was an amount that could come up ten times over. Five thousand nyang was enough to buy ten decent pleasure houses, after all.
But it was just a number written on a single IOU, so it did not feel real. What was more, it was an IOU written by that gambler trembling over there.
"Be honest. You didn't lend that money thinking you'd actually get it back, did you?"
At Wang Chil's suspicious question, Do Tong-dal put on a baffled expression.
"Is there such a thing as an IOU written without expecting to get the money back?"
"So if the Black Dragon Society doesn't pay, it's war?"
"The Society Leader is my older brother, so he's the one who has to decide."
"You punk! I've barely been Society Leader and you're already dumping this heavy a load on me!"
Do Tong-dal spoke to the fuming Wang Chil.
"Brother, you've got me, My Arm here, and Jang Yu-seom. Even the magistrate is on our side. Do you really think we'd lose a war?"
"Well, that's true, but."
"The one who should be shitting himself right now isn't you, Brother, it's the Black Dragon Society leader. So just send him a letter."
"What?"
"Tell him if he doesn't pay, it's war. Deadline is tomorrow."
* * *
More than ten people gathering in the Society Leader's office was a first since the founding of the Black Dragon Society. Among them, one man, Seohyeon Branch Chief Byeon Chi-su, was kneeling on the floor.
Society Leader So Tae-sang asked Byeon Chi-su.
"So you poked the Red Tiger Society to make some pocket change?"
"F-for a few days the income was de-decent."
"And then you got struck by lightning in the form of a five-thousand-nyang IOU. Do you have the ability to pay it back?"
He asked knowing full well there was no way he did. Elder No Dal-bong, who had been watching the situation from the side, spoke.
"The Red Tiger Society won't be able to start a war that easily either. They've only just managed to clean up the mess Jo Gwang-un made."
"Elder No."
"Yes."
"Do we have the strength to make one of the martial world's great sects back down?"
"Why would a martial sect......?"
"The Red Tiger Society made the Red Wind Sword Sect and the Black River Blade Sect back down after they bared their teeth at us."
Why the two sects that had coveted the Red Tiger Society had backed down was known only within the Red Tiger Society.
"Chan-seok."
Hall Master Hwang Chan-seok hastily bowed.
"Yes, Society Leader."
"You've clashed with Do Tong-dal, haven't you?"
That was why Hwang Chan-seok had been summoned here.
"That's right."
"What do you think?"
"He's a man I'd rather not meet as an enemy if I can help it."
"A thug afraid of another thug?"
"If there is one thug in the Central Plains worth fearing, I would name Do Tong-dal."
"If war breaks out, military force will be committed, and the government office will turn against us as well."
That Do Tong-dal was close with the magistrate was no secret. So Tae-sang looked over the letter Wang Chil had sent once more.
The deadline for fulfilling the debt was fixed at tomorrow, and the resolve that failure to pay meant war was unmistakable.
"Because of a branch chief who got greedy for pocket change, we're suffering all sorts of humiliating nonsense. Elder No."
No Dal-bong, called by So Tae-sang, bowed his head.
"Yes, Society Leader."
"How much money can we put together right now?"
"Surely you don't mean to pay?"
Bang!
When So Tae-sang slammed the desk, everyone flinched.
"If any of you has a way to avoid a war we're obviously going to lose without paying the money, then speak up!"
* * *